The Arizona Wildcats beat the Oregon Ducks, 87-83, on Sunday night to advance to the Sweet 16 in the men's NCAA tournament. They were able to get the victory despite one of their players getting called for a technical foul on one of the weirdest plays of the postseason.
In case you missed it, sophomore guard KJ Lewis went to throw down an uncontested, two-handed dunk midway through the second half. He ended up missing the easy dunk, though, and then while hanging on the rim he caught the ball and put it in the basket.
The refs blew the whistle and called a technical on him for hanging on the rim. So not only did he suffer the embarrassment of blowing an easy dunk during a huge game, but then play stopped and he got punished for his move.
This was wild:
Robbie Hummel: Wow, what a turn of events.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 24, 2025
Jalen Rose: Yes, mental mistake.
Lisa Biyington: You know, in a dunk contest, that would be something. pic.twitter.com/lBXBureVq3
Lewis shared his thoughts on that play after the game:
KJ Lewis jokes that he's got to "get more athletic" after getting called for a technical after hanging on the rim:
— Chris Brown (@Brownbear1999) March 24, 2025
"I didn't know that was a tech, I'm not gonna lie. If I did, I probably would have let go. I should have made the dunk...I've got to get more athletic apparently." pic.twitter.com/EfXZhorf3e
Lewis had 12 points in the win and helped Arizona set up a date with Duke in the next round, but it's safe to say he won't forget that play for quite some time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arizona’s KJ Lewis Got a Technical Foul for His Baffling Move After Missing Easy Dunk.
